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Shelly Berg
The LA Times calls
Concord recording artist, Shelly Berg “a powerhouse jazz pianist who
always swings hard”. Shelly’s new CD, “Blackbird” (Concord Records
2005) has reached the top five in US jazz radio. His previous CD, “The
Will” (CARS Records) spent eight weeks in the Top Ten.
A
finalist in the 1988 Great American Jazz Piano Competition (PBS
Television), he is the long-time pianist and arranger for trombonist,
Bill Watrous, and the musical director for vocalists, Patti Austin and
Lorraine Feather. Shelly and Carmen have a new CD, “Home
With You”, on Azika Records.
Shelly
maintains a busy, worldwide schedule of jazz festival and club
performances. He has performed and/or recorded with a “Who’s Who”
of jazz legends, including Ray Brown, Louie Bellson, Eddie Daniels,
Woody Herman, Clark Terry, and Sonny Stitt to name a few. Other recent
projects include two CD’s with vocalist, Lorraine Feather on Sanctuary
Records (EMI), and a CD collaboration with drummer Peter Erskine and
bassist, John Fremgen (Viewpoint Records).
Shelly’s
composing and orchestrating for television includes ABC’s Fudge, CBS’s
A League of Their Own, and HBO’s Dennis Miller Live. He has
orchestrated for Kiss, Chicago, Carole King, Richard Marx, Joe Cocker,
Kurt Elling and Lou Rawls. Film orchestration work includes
Warner Bros. Almost Heroes and Three To Tango, Fox’s Men of Honor
(Robert DeNiro, Cuba Gooding, Jr.), and the NBC Mini-series The
60’s. He has written for the Royal Philharmonic, the American
Symphony, and orchestras worldwide. Shelly composed the theme
song to the 1986 U.S. Olympic Festival, and orchestrated Japan
Concerto, for the 10th anniversary of the Emperor’s coronation.
His orchestrations are called “magnificent. . . incredible” by Johnny
Mandel.
Shelly
holds the McCoy/Sample professorship of Jazz Studies in the Thornton
School of Music at the University of Southern California.
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